Arianna Giovannini
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ariannagiovannini.bsky.social
Arianna Giovannini
@ariannagiovannini.bsky.social
Professor of Political Sociology @uniurb. Former director and now Associate Fellow, @ipprnorth.bsky.social. Devolution/Territorial Politics/Regions/Local Government
Reposted by Arianna Giovannini
Great workshop yesterday at @ccc-research.bsky.social – we explored how strengths/limitations of English devolution might inform local/regional reform in Scotland. Thanks to all who joined, esp. @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social @paulanderson88.bsky.social & @sekip.bsky.social! @uoe-sps.bsky.social
June 27, 2025 at 8:57 AM
✨New @ccc-research.bsky.social blog assessing Reform’s success at #LE2025🗳️

➡️Government failure to deliver change communities have long been calling for makes Reform thrive
Enact the radical reforms needed to shift the dial, or succumb to Reform
www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/news-and-opi...
May 7, 2025 at 9:07 PM
Reposted by Arianna Giovannini
Brilliant panel led by @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social on the role of academia in shaping policy, particularly at the subregional level in England. Lots of valuable experience, insight, and advice from Patrick Diamond, Peter Murphy, @louisereardon.bsky.social, and @rileyresearch.bsky.social #PSA2025
April 15, 2025 at 2:34 PM
🇬🇧So much looking forward to be back to the UK for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference next week & contribute to @psalocalpol.bsky.social sessions!

✨The Local Politics & Governance Specialist Group has a fantastic line up of panels & roundtables at #PSA25 — check them out here & join us👇🏽🤓
We're very excited about next week's Political Studies Association Conference @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

🧵Here's a thread of the sessions run by the Local Politics & Governance Specialist Group

Hopefully see you there!

@peckersley.bsky.social @tjarnold.bsky.social
April 9, 2025 at 5:06 PM
✨Honoured to be included in the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) “Top 25 Thinkers in Local Government” - and deeply flattered to see my name alongside some true #localgov giants 🙏

lgiu.org/publication/...
LGIU’s top 25 thinkers in local government
We're spotlighting 25 leading thinkers who are seeking to address local government's most pressing challenges. Our list celebrates the vibrancy and innovation within this sector which leads to real wo
lgiu.org
February 18, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Sobering.
"The junk food crisis harming Britain’s children" (And it's structural). www.ft.com/content/b503...
December 29, 2024 at 7:52 AM
Hello England, I missed you.

Spectacular landing views yesterday, while Manchester was under a thick layer of fog 🫧
December 28, 2024 at 4:22 PM
All I want for Christmas is a house that looks tidy for more than 5 minutes 🎄✨ 🫠 #lifewithatoddler
December 24, 2024 at 3:09 PM
Good piece, as ever, from @craigpberry.bsky.social on English Devo White Paper (and what’s missing in it) 👇🏽
December 23, 2024 at 8:51 AM
Can you have real devolution (which should be abt bringing politics closer to people)while taking the local out of local gov?
Local governance in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 is undoubtedly a complicated affair,but local gov size is already well above Eu average - not sure making it even bigger is the solution to the problem…
Excl: Government will move to scrap district councils in its devolution white paper on Monday, sparking the biggest local government reorganisation in 50 years

on.ft.com/3VBH0ui
District councils face scrapping in major overhaul of English local government
[FREE TO READ] Devolution white paper aims to create larger authorities and more elected mayors
on.ft.com
December 13, 2024 at 10:30 PM
🔌 While we keep waiting for the publication of the white paper on English devo, here’s a good essay on ‘the shape of devolution’ from @rosielockwood.bsky.social & @ryanswift93.bsky.social @ipprnorth.bsky.social 🧩

www.ippr.org/articles/the...
The shape of devolution | IPPR
Finding the right shape of the footprints to devolve power to in England is a complex exercise that requires consideration of a wide range of issues includ
www.ippr.org
December 13, 2024 at 9:19 PM
✨Very proud to have contributed a piece with Steven Griggs to this brilliant 50th Anniversary special issue of Local Government Studies

💡 The SI is packed with brilliant contributions from great scholars — and it’s *open access* so check it out! 👇🏽
Absolutely delighted that our *very* special anniversary issue of Local Government Studies is now published 😃
"Fifty years of LGS: the past, present and future of local government studies" reflects on the journal's evolution and asks how it might develop in future
www.tandfonline.com/toc/flgs20/c...
Local Government Studies
50 years of LGS: The past, present, and future of local government studies. Volume 50, Issue 6 of Local Government Studies
www.tandfonline.com
December 13, 2024 at 2:26 PM
Great piece & thread from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social here👇🏽
December 2, 2024 at 10:13 AM
Can England’s new breed of mayors help fix its left-behind regions?

www.ft.com/content/071a...
Can England’s new breed of mayors help fix its left-behind regions?
Westminster sees local figureheads as a new response to old challenges, but they will need resources and real power in key areas
www.ft.com
December 2, 2024 at 6:55 AM
Reposted by Arianna Giovannini
Looks very much like ministers want to use the lure of MCAs to drive local government reorganisation. Which was always Hezza's aim (and no one ever described him as believing in building devolution from the ground up) cc @swannphil.bsky.social
www.room151.co.uk/governance/r...
Reshaping local power: the government’s vision for devolution - Room 151
With the English Devolution White Paper expected at the end of November, what does it mean for local government?
www.room151.co.uk
November 22, 2024 at 1:02 PM
Reposted by Arianna Giovannini
Please consider following the Italian Politics Specialist group of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social, which I co-convene with @dbonansinga.bsky.social. We cover all aspects of Italian politics via conferences, workshops, publications... & by engaging with the international media.

Just landed here.
On Thursday 5 December (6-7.30PM), @mlorimer.bsky.social will be presenting her book 'Europe as Ideological Resource' at King's College London. The event is open to all and free to attend - further information and registration here: eventbrite.com/e/book-prese...
Book presentation: Europe as ideological resource.
Marta Lorimer presents her book Europe as ideological resource: European integration and far right legitimation in France and Italy
eventbrite.com
November 20, 2024 at 5:34 PM
✨Join us on 21 Nov at 4pm (in person & online) for a timely event on local democracy organised by CURDS @ Newcastle University

Details, lineup & registration link here 👇🏽

forms.office.com/pages/respon...
October 21, 2024 at 9:28 PM
✨Another brilliant article included in @LGStudies 50th anniversary special issue

🎯@sandfordm3 discusses what happened to local gov academics & research centres - and how/why fewer of them means there’s now a gap in reps of sector in relevant debates among policy-makers/making
@LGStudies has published a short article of mine www.tandfonline.com/eprint/5KZDM... asking where all the UK's local government scholars have gone, and the resulting absence of the sector from policy-makers' perspectives on government, the constitution and public policy
The challenges of mainstreaming local government
Although local government has faced huge challenges – even challenges to its existence and its rationale – since Local Government Studies was established, the journal has survived and flourished. F...
www.tandfonline.com
October 14, 2024 at 10:14 AM
Quite puzzled by this article 🤷🏻‍♀️

Argues that Scotland needs to learn from England re metro mayors because “Scottish LG is in a mess & lacks power & authority”…completely ignoring the fact that English local gov is still in a mess even where MMs are in place.. 1/

www.newstatesman.com/politics/sco...
What Scotland can learn from Andy Burnham
The mayoral model so successful in England should be replicated north of the border.
www.newstatesman.com
October 4, 2024 at 1:06 PM
✨New devo deals on the horizon🔭

Interesting to see
✅ Hull & East Riding finally coming together into a single deal - this seemed impossible a few yrs ago.
Can the benefits of devo help councils put rivalries aside & develop productive collaboration?

www.lgcplus.com/politics/dev...
Two new mayors as Rayner confirms devo plans
The government will press ahead with four devolution deals agreed by the previous government and has...
www.lgcplus.com
September 19, 2024 at 3:59 PM
Immigration is a big issue, both perceived and real.
But surely Starmer should seek better options than looking for inspiration from Giorgia Meloni & the awful Italian deal with Albania?🤷🏻‍♀️

#R4today www.bbc.com/news/article...
Keir Starmer and Giorgia Meloni to discuss migrant boat crossings
Meloni has overseen a 64% drop in migrant crossings from north Africa, but not without controversy.
www.bbc.com
September 16, 2024 at 6:12 AM
💰Doing business rates differently

Good piece from Kevin Muldoon-Smith & Mark Sandford looking at potential options for changes to business rates👇🏽
Doing business rates differently
Kevin Muldoon-Smith and Mark Sandford examine potential options for changes to business rates, ranging from modest or major changes to introducing a new tax
www.themj.co.uk
September 6, 2024 at 8:13 AM
Brilliant thread from Mark Sandford on English devo research ⤵️

🎯 Lots of analysis out there, but most papers/reports seek to reinvent the wheel simply assuming government can start with a clean slate, without properly asking or assessing *why* England is so centralised.
I have been thinking recently about what the purpose of research writing is, in the context of the commentator pile-on into English devolution matters over the last couple of years but particularly since the general election. Short 🧵
September 4, 2024 at 6:20 PM
Reposted by Arianna Giovannini
In a recent paper, @ariannagiovannini.bsky.social & Steven Griggs argue that academics have been too vague about the meaning of "the local", both as a normative vision and as a unit of analysis.

They accept an open, plural definition but argue we must all be more explicit when we use the concept.
August 21, 2024 at 9:11 AM